Meet Mark

Let me introduce myself. My name is Mark Sisson. I’m 63 years young. I live and work in Malibu, California. In a past life I was a professional marathoner and triathlete. Now my life goal is to help 100 million people get healthy. I started this blog in 2006 to empower people to take full responsibility for their own health and enjoyment of life by investigating, discussing, and critically rethinking everything we’ve assumed to be true about health and wellness...

PRIMAL KITCHEN™ Dark Chocolate Almond Bars Have Landed!

Throughout the years, I’ve rolled out several recipes for Primal Energy Bars on Mark’s Daily Apple—do-it-yourself treats packed with energy, protein, and healthy deliciousness. I want to thank you for experimenting with me, because it’s brought us to TODAY…the official launch of my latest PRIMAL KITCHEN™ creation—Dark Chocolate Almond Bars.

They are everything you’d expect in a bar that bears the Primal name. And they boast 15 grams of protein, just 3 grams of sugar and 8 grams of net carbs per bar, and 170 milligrams of potassium. Those are some impressive stats if I do say so myself!

The Taste: I don’t go for the sickly sweet bars that are really just Snickers disguised in a “healthier” package, but I did like the idea of combining nutty crunch with decadent rich chocolate and chewy caramel. So, I whipped together dark chocolate, Turkish almonds, roasted pumpkin seeds, a caramel coating, and a touch of coconut for a subtly sweet but totally satisfying taste.

Grass-fed Collagen: The ancestral diet was loaded with collagen protein. Primal humans ate the odd bits and tougher cuts of beef that made up the connective tissue of animals, but nowadays, these parts of the meat get thrown away…because who wants to eat tendons and skin raw? Well, some of you hard-core Groks maybe…but, we can cook them.

PRIMAL KITCHEN™ protein bars are made with grass-fed collagen protein from bovines pasture-raised in Brazil. This type of grass-fed collagen has been shown to help reduce joint pain, improve sleep quality, support skin, hair and nail growth, and enhance digestion.

The grass-fed collagen protein that’s in my protein bars is packed with glycine, and studies have shown that glycine can counteract the effects of methionine. Why do we care? Because animal foods like muscle meat, eggs and dairy get a bad rap because they’re high in the amino acid methionine, which animal trials have shown can decrease life span. With as much collagen per bar as in a cup of bone broth, now we Groks can enjoy all the benefits of a protein-rich diet.

Inulin: Primal Kitchen’s Dark Chocolate Almond Bars are a terrific source of fiber in the form of inulin. Inulin is a prebiotic fiber that feeds the trillions of foreign cells in our digestive tracts. In other words, it’s food for your gut flora, and trust me, you want your gut flora fed and happy! Your gut microbiome controls factors into nearly every aspect of your health—your digestive, cognitive, emotional, psychological, immune, metabolic and liver health.

Inulin is also being studied as a possible weight loss aid. Eating prebiotic fiber in the form of inulin helps you feel fuller, faster—so you don’t go overboard on calories—and it won’t spike your blood-sugar levels. Preliminary research supports inulin’s effectiveness as an appetite suppressant.

Monk Fruit: Also called Luo Han Goa, monk fruit is a Chinese herb cultivated for centuries by Buddhist Luohan monks. Much like stevia, it’s a delicious and natural sweetener without all the calories of sugar.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who wondered that! I thought maybe the time difference or sleep deprivation was confusing me. Looks like Mark’s double dropped 😉 I’d be too busy to post, too, if I were launching a new product.

Very interesting. I’m going to have to give these a try. I’ve taken collagen supplements (in addition making bone broth at home), and this seems like a more portable way to get in some extra on the go.

Sounds good. But both links to purchase don’t seem to work for me. The thrive link takes me to a 404 Not Found page and the native order page just spins forever and then says “We’re sorry, there has been an error processing your request!”. So much for that.

Thrive is up and running! PrimalBlueprint.com crashed from too much traffic this morning! So much excitement that the interwebs can’t handle it! You can find the bars on Thrive Market here: http://bit.ly/222tgpR

I’m disappointed that these are “protein” bars. What the world needs is some fat bars or keto bars. That said, PK might make big inroads on Quest’s market share, given that Quest has recently reformulated their products beyond repair.

Please update the FAQs to address the “hydrolyzed” seen on the NF panel for the collagen.

Please update the FAQs to address the provenance of the honey (or better yet, get it out of the product entirely). In the majority of processed foods on the market today, “honey” is just HFCS with a bit of bee spit (if only because that’s what is fed to the hive to replace the lost honey).

We are a fat bar, that happens to be high in protein too! Thanks for pointing that out, we’ll tailor our marketing accordingly. In fact, there are 15g of high quality fat from almonds, pumpkin seeds and coconut oil in 1 bar. We consider this to the ultimate low-carb bar due to it’s reduced sugar content. Yes, we chose to include a mere 3g of sugar in the form of honey, but we think this is minuscule in comparison to the amounts of sugar seen in other “Paleo” bars. And there s absolutely no HFCS found in our honey. Furthermore, as far as fat is concerned, most folks have no problem seeking out sources of beneficial fat to include in their diet. Protein is something that can be hard to find in on-the-go solutions. Hence the necessity for this bar. Yes, good fat is good. But so is quality protein. Hydrolyzed Collagen: this is the same thing as Collagen Peptides, (just like Vital Proteins). The collagen has undergone a process of hydrolysis to to reduce the protein into smaller peptides to make it more readily bioavailable. The amino acid content of collagen is the same as hydrolyzed collagen. Most clinical studies on the benefits of collagen have been conducted using hydrolyzed collagen peptides.

Thanks for the clarifications. I LOVE Mark’s Greek Dressing and these bars sound great. My only concern is that there is no mention of the chocolate being fair trade. Because of the prevalence of slavery in the chocolate industry, I only eat chocolate if sourced in a manner where it’s clear there’s been no slavery. Fair-trade is the easiest way for me to know that but sometimes the source of the chocolate helps. For example, I understand the farms in Costa Rica are closely supervised for this. Please clarify what you can about the source of the chocolate components of this bar. Thank you!

Any chance of a nut butter based bar? After chemotherapy back in the mid 80s I am left with teeth that don’t stand up to whole or coarse chopped nuts (or coarse cocoa nibs for that matter). These bars look (both appearance and ingredients) to be quite yummy and I’d love to be able to get a box (or five) of these, but I’d be unable to eat the best parts.

I have been getting a box of the EPIC bars every month, wallet stops me from getting more of those, are there perchance any plans for a meat and fruit bar akin to those? I’ve found that pretty much all of the OTHER meat based bars or bites are full on jerky style (tough for me to chew), ludicrously expensive, or have less-than-good ingredients.

BTW I looked at Thrive yesterday (the 14th, after midnight now) and could not find the Primal Kitchen bars. They were not indexed or searchable in any fashion, the only way to find them is by the direct links from here.

Hey James! We are working on a bunch of new flavors, but we haven’t determined which route we are going exactly. We will keep the nut butter base in the back of our minds. This one is definitely chewy. One reader mentioned heating it in the oven to soften it and make it easier to chew. Or what about pulsing it in the blender a few times?!? Ha!

Sorry, but I avoid anything with the mysterious term “natural flavors” in the ingredients list. I like to know exactly what I am eating, and I don’t consider chemical based “natural” flavoring stop be primal…

We hear you! They are in fact, just cocoa extract with a fancy name to protect proprietary information. It’s more of a legality issue than anything else, but we are working to adjust the label to cocoa extract. We chose one of the world’s most premium bar makers located in Canada to make our bar and they are just as committed to ingredient integrity as we are!!

Our natural flavors are simply cocoa extract. There is absolutely no MSG or any other weirdness that is sometimes present in other natural flavors. We are working with the legal team to be able to label it as such and hope to make a change before we print out next labels. Sorry for the scare! And thanks for bearing with us!

Hey Kevin – the site crashed from too much traffic. Here’s the link to Thrive Market if you’d like to place an order and didn’t get to it before the crash: http://bit.ly/222tgpR Thanks for your support!!

… and I just did. I’ll probably eat half a bar at a time at the end of my morning primal meal and smear a little coconut oil on it and pop a few berries to end the meal. I see it as a nice supplement to a meal, a healthy dessert so to speak. Of course, a nice on the go snack in a pinch.

There are a million protein bars out there, and 99.99% are crap IMO.

I tried a primal bar once that was so hard I literally could not eat / chew it. I used to eat the Organic protein brand, but they are high in natural sugar, 20+ grams so I would only eat a third of one at a time. The Oatmega bars have a decent profile but a little too high in carbohydrates. So, I’m psyched about these bad boys, interested to find out what the taste bud will think lol.

Mark, I love you and I have purchased your books and products in the past, but I am disappointed that you are introducing this non-food item. Primal Mayo is also a non-food item, but it is not to be eaten alone; it’s added to flavor and enhance real food.

Some issues I have with this product:
As nuts and chocolate constitute the primary ingredients, won’t the phytates interfere with mineral absorption?
You break down the protein and carbohydrate macro-nutrients, but give nothing about the exact constituents of the fat composition, something you would always do when answering if a food is Primal.
Are the omega-3’s in the pumpkin seeds that you emphasize bio-available?
These are labeled as indulgences, but how many people will stare at a box of these and not be tempted to consume far too many because it has Mark Sisson’s name on them?
Is the bone-broth aspect of this bar that you highly emphasize as bio-available and healthy as home-made bone broth?
Are we never again to see future recipes for home-made indulgences because you have already “solved” this problem?
And to repeat what I already said and what another commenter has said, why are you going in the direction of non-real-foods? This does not seem Primal in its philosophy.
On a positive side, maybe, maybe one can argue that these bars can help a person transform from a non-Primal, high carbohydrate diet to a Primal one. But it would only be during the period of change. And even then, I think it is going in the wrong direction.
Eating “health bars” is not Primal.
Sorry Mark. That’s just my honest opinion. I still love you.

I believe this product will be useful for everyone who are on the go and are not used to fasting. This bar will suit people who travels a lot or happens to need a fast casual snack.

For sure the bio-availability will not match the ones of real food. And packaged food lose lots of flavor, so I don’t see any problem with some minor natural flavoring.

Look at the good: it doesn’t have vegetable oils, heavy conservatives, HFCS, hydrogenated fats, nitrites, nitrates, etc
I don’t think of it as a meal replacement or of something that should be eaten everyday. But it surely feels a gap on healthy snacking.

It’s not “real” food but it’s another good option we have on our sight!

Scot – Yes, we definitely recommend a real food diet. This was never meant to replace meals on a regular basis. But let’s be honest: we are Groks living in a modern world, and sometimes you need something on the go. We find that 99% of all options on the market are loaded with sugar and instead of satiating the pallet, they leave you craving a 2nd bar, just like candy. Mark spent 20 years (literally) coming up with a bar recipe that he was excited about. And even though it comes in a wrapper, it’s still real food.

Your bone broth question: one could argue that with homemade bone broth you can never be sure how much collagen you end up with in the final recipe. With our bar, you know exactly what you’re getting (minus the hours in the kitchen and delivered in a form that tastes really good). Hydrolyzed collagen is collagen that has gone through a process of hydrolysis to make it more readily bioavailable.

Of course there will be future reference for homemade indulgences! We aren’t telling anyone not to make their own bars. We’re just here for you in case you’re too busy outside playing to spend time in the kitchen. Plus, grabbing a high-quality bar on your way out the door to your ultimate frisbee game (Mark!) or on your way to surf or play soccer is as Primal as it gets.

We’ve made it our mission to make healthy eating easy and exciting again, which is why we bottled our avocado oil (for high heat cooking needs), and why we’re launching 3 salad dressings before the end of the year plus a Chipotle Lime Mayo. All of those, which are the core Primal Kitchen products, are vehicles through which the everyday chef can get more real food into their diet.

Personally, I hate bars and never buy them. I can’t find one non-GMO, vegetable oil-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, low-sugar option on the market that tastes really good. Until now. I’m traveling a ton for Primal Kitchen and I need stuff that’s going to get me through the airport. Something about making tuna salad with our mayo on the plane brings back haunting memories of smelly brown bag lunches from childhood. I just can’t bring myself to go there…

Hope this answers some of your questions! And thanks for the healthy debate 🙂 We love you too, Scott.

With respect to the collagen you write that “with our bar, you know exactly what you’re getting.” Can you please point out where to find this information about the number of grams of collagen there is in each bar?

You did not address my question about the composition of the fats in the bar: omega 6, bio-available omega-3, saturated, polyunsaturated, monounsaturated. (The omega-3 in pumpkins seeds is not nearly as bio-available as fish oil omega-3). The bars state that the amount of saturated fat is 4g, which is quite low.

You did not address the issue of phytates in the nuts and the chocolate.

According to the nutrition information on the bars, the amount per bar of protein, carbohydrate, and total fat is respectively 15g, 14g, 15g. I think this ratio is too high in carbohydrates, especially for the use to which you recommend it: eating while travelling.

I don’t agree with you that this is a real food. An energy bar is not a real food. It is a processed food. How many times have Mark and others argued that it is better to fast – perhaps with tea or water? You make it out as if you’ll starve without eating these processed bars. Are you saying that fat adapted people better off eating a processed product that has a 1:1 ratio of carbohydrates to fat?

Moreover, I don’t at all agree with you that everyone eating these bars will be so satisfied that they will always stop at one. What happens if a person eats 3 bars at a sitting and skips a real meal as a result? Because the carbohydrate to fat ratio is too high, the fat composition is too low in saturated fat, and there is too much omega-6 (the omega-3 from pumpkins seeds is not very bio-available), anyone eating more than one or using this as a meal replacement (whether intentionally or not) is doing themselves a big disservice to the Primal eating plan.

Is a person better off eating this product than a Snickers Bar? Obviously. Is this better than other energy type bars on the market? Maybe it is. But energy bars are not, in my opinion, a Primally aligned food. I think Mark made a big mistake in going in this direction of selling “energy bars”. This type of product is exactly what is wrong with the so-called health food industry.

I have to correct two things that I wrote above: the carb content is stated as 14g, which it states includes fiber. The net carb content per bar is stated as 8g. So apparently, the carb/fat ratio is not as bat as I stated above. Also, the bars state that the amount of collagen protein is 15g.

I think the collagen product is what is the gold here, skip the nuts and chocolate. Let a person eat those alone if they choose to.

Mark, why not just put out the collagen product alone or added with a saturated fat, with almost no carbs? Or add it to a soup type product. I’m sure Primal kitchen can come up with flavoring, if necessary, that does not have nuts or chocolate.

Scot, I entirely agree. I think it’s counterproductive for the Paleo/Primal movement to be drifting in the direction of processed products and substitute foods. Moreover, it provides fuel for the naysayers, who would already have people believe that Paleo is nothing but a fad based on bizarre alternate ingredients.

I know from personal experience that a Paleo diet works for many of us because we do eat real food. We practice IF by skipping the snacks, no matter how healthy they are supposed to be–particularly if we’re trying to lose weight. Even when out in the middle of nowhere, I’d much rather carry along a couple of hard-cooked eggs and an apple than a quasi-dessert bar from the snack aisle of a store.

Mark’s blog posts are amazing. And his books are amazing. But his direction into processed foods, and they are processed foods, is I think contrary to the Primal philosophy and intellectual honesty that runs through his blog posts. I see a conflict of interest here.

So expensive to ship to Canada. $26 for shipping and with the exchange rate makes it over $7/bar. Will you have any stores selling these bars in Canada? I’d also be interested in your other products and I know several others who would be too.

I must say I am somewhat perplexed by some of the comments and concerns raised by readers / posters. This product by my estimation is a high quality protein bar what ever way you want to chew it. And yes one could argue chomping down a handful of macadamia nuts would be shall we say a little more prudent. But come on I certainly don’t believe these bars are harmful.

Harmful? No. Optimal? Again, no. I realize that many people like the taste and convenience of snack bars and are able to keep them in the proper dietary context. But newbies to the Paleo way of life, who are often struggling with food addictions and excess weight–as well as trying to understand how to maintain a healthy diet–are going to get a mixed message regarding processed and/or replacement foods.

We absolutely see them being able in stores like Whole Foods and other natural/independent health food stores. It takes a little while to get the distribution up and running and get the product in the market, but I can tell you that the bar will be in all Whole Foods in the Rocky Mtn Region in the next few months. Where do you live?

Oh nice! The Lincoln Park Whole Foods carries our mayo – we are working on getting the bars there as well! It’s tough with only 1 flavor — they want 3-6 in order to make it worth it for them to carve out space for you on the shelf. We’ll get there! I’m actually from Hinsdale — so you’re in my stomping grounds!

Our natural flavors are simply cocoa extract. There is absolutely no MSG or any other weirdness that is sometimes present in other natural flavors. We are working with the legal team to be able to label it as such and hope to make a change before we print out next labels. Sorry for the scare! And thanks for bearing with us!

This kind of bar is most welcome when out and about with active children. Yes we prefer to cook and prepare real food but it’s hard keeping up with the needs of two very active pre-teens when away from home for the day or week. Especially when their peers are eating sweets and doughnuts.

Ok I literally reached over the box to get to the See’s Candies, and read the return label and saw it was from Primal Nutrition. Saved!!–that was a close one. It’s good–I like chewy! and not too sweet.

I just received my Primal Kitchen Dark Chocolate Almond Bars, they are very tasty, however they are very very hard in texture and difficult to bite into . You need Grok teeth to bite them. How come they are so hard? Can a quick zap in the microwave soften them up?

Thanks for your feedback. We’ve heard similar reports from other customers (in addition to reports from people who loved the texture) and we’re working on the issue right now. Unfortunately, the coldness of our warehouse and the cold shipping temps haven’t been nice on us and we think this is causing a hardening of the bars. We hope to soften the next batch. In the interim, think of the bar like a nice juicy steak: chew worthy. And remember, the digestive process starts in your mouth, so a little extra chewing never hurt anyone. The good news – it takes longer to eat, thus resulting in a more satiating experience. Thanks for bearing with us as we continually seek to put out the best products possible!

Thanks Liz. For more general feedback, I agree that they’re way too hard and hard to eat. I have good teeth, but honestly thought I was going to break one, or pull a filling! I might try zapping, as others have suggested. In the meantime, I won’t buy again unless/until it’s stated that they’ve softened up. Bummer — I was pretty excited about them.

I just got my order for these yesterday, and my god they are very very hard to eat!!! Why do they have to be so tough to bite? I have to literally used the side of my mouth and break off a piece with my molars. I am afraid to use my front teeth for fear I will break something. They are way too tough. Is there any way around this? I don’t like something that is this tough to eat. They are very messy too because you cannot eat them by biting them off in the front of your mouth. I am afraid they are going to take out a tooth. Way too sticky while chewing. Please think of revising the recipe. I won’t be ordering again. They make me too nervous while eating. I am very annoyed by this. And no, I am not an old lady, nor do I have dentures.

Agreed! I was thinking I might be the only person to think this way but I ordered two boxes and I’m not enjoying these at all. They are way too sticky. Like eating taffy with nuts and I’m constantly having to stick my finger in my mouth to pry the gunk and nuts from my teeth.

I have to agree with you and the other comments on the texture. I bought 2 boxes and don’t think I can eat them. I am seriously worried about pulling out a crown just to bite into it.
I nuked it for about 7 seconds but it didn’t make it any softer.

Love the ingredients and the macros, would like to recommend to my patients, but just can’t until they reformulate for some softness.

Trying to like these bars, but they are impossible to eat without heating. I nuked the bar for 12 seconds and was able to eat without losing a tooth. Won’t purchase again unless the bar is reformulated.

Thanks for your feedback! We’ve heard similar reports from others (in addition to reports from people who loved the texture) and we’re working on the issue right now. Unfortunately, the cold shipping temps haven’t been too kind and we think this maybe causing a hardening of the bars. We hope to soften the next batch. Thanks for bearing with us as we continually seek to put out the best products possible!

I am SO unbelievably disappointed that you changed the texture! The fact that they were harder in texture is ABSOLUTELY what made them so great! (Not to mention how long they took to eat because of it, which was VERY satisfying!) I was buying MULTIPLE cases monthly, 4-6, and now I won’t buy them anymore, I’ll switch to the Julian Bakery paleo ones. I just don’t understand why on earth a company would change the texture on a VERY SUCCESSFULLY selling product?? Simply because a few people thought they were too hard?? How can you change a product that is doing well, abandoning your original clientele, for a few complaints? Not the best way to do business, and now you lost a customer. They were perfect, now they are a sticky gooey mess that sticks to the paper. Somehow the flavor is duller, it is a quick snack rather than something to sit with, basically it sucks now. Boo to you guys. Signed, lost customer.

I love the ingredients in these bars and it is noted that you do not add any preservatives in your foods and the nutritional value is awesome. However I dislike when food ingredients have “natural flavors”. What even is a ‘natural flavor’? Can you please verify?

As a dentist I couldn’t recommend these to any one with cemented restorations such as crowns or bridges. They are difficult to chew and I found hard to digest. I was belching for hours after consuming one as a replacement meal. I like the taste and the ingredients and don’t think the storage temperature really affected then ones I purchased since I live in Louisiana.

It makes me very sad to drop this comment in here since I have so much respect and admiration for Mark’s mission and passion.

As reported by others above, while I was thrilled to take delivery of my first box of Dark Chocolate Almond Bars, my experience eating them is less than thrilling.

Despite the yummy ingredients, I’m finding they taste positively awful. And even though low in sodium, for me they are also way too salty. I’m also finding them to be very sticky which is puzzling considering the small amount of ‘sugar’. Perhaps they are dipped in the honey rather than it being on the inside?

Perhaps I have an issue with my taste buds and should rather try a bar that’s not quite so bitter, salty and sticky? Any recommendations from the Primal Kitchen?

I had these a few months ago and they were great! Nice and chewy, not too hard like I guess the first batch was. I have a new box just in time for Halloween. I bet if I heated one up first it’d taste just like a brownie….